Ernest Raab, an internationally renowned sculptor, artist, poet, writer, and Talmudic scholar, died Aug. 22. He was 77. Among his many other works, Raab created the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial and the monument to Raoul Wallenberg in Earl Bales Park, a bas relief at Beth Tzedec Congregation and the stained glass windows at Beth David…
Memorial service to honour former Toronto rabbi (Winer)
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Yiddishist Rabbi Gershon Winer, who was raised in Toronto and worked at the Jewish Teachers Seminary in New York City prior to making aliyah in 1970, died in Jerusalem on Yom Kippur (2003). He was 81. Rabbi Winer, who was a frequent guest lecturer at Beth Tzedec Congregation and for years conducted High Holy Day…
Harbord class of ’53 gathers for 50th reunion
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Many graduates of Harbord Collegiate Institute, once the centre of activities for Jewish teens in Toronto, have wonderful memories of their time at the school. The graduating class of 1953 recently held its 50th reunion dinner at Meron Banquet Hall, where 88 graduates, spouses and partners gathered, from places as far away as Kingston and…
50th anniversary of Belleville’s Sons of Jacob Congregation
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Calling all Bellevillians and former Bellevillians to the 50th reunion of the “new” Sons of Jacob Congregation. The reunion takes place in the city of Belleville on the June 3 (2005) weekend, and includes a full program to celebrate the building’s 50th anniversary. In 1955, 65 Jewish families looked at their old-fashioned synagogue, which was…
Bar mitzvah takes family back to old Ostrovtzer Synagogue
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Nathan Friedman-Burley’s bar mitzvah was a walk down memory lane for his family. The event took place at the Cecil Community Centre at 58 Cecil Street in downtown Toronto, once the home of the vibrant Anshei Ostrovtzer Synagogue where Friedman-Burley’s great-grandfather, Israel Nachman Weinberg, was one of the founders in 1922 and the first president,…
Toronto company boasts 50 years, four generations
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Long before home computers and the Toronto subway, Cooper Office Supply Co. Limited was established at 379 Queen Street West in Toronto. Celebrating its 50th year in business and into the fourth generation of Coopers, the landmark location continues its tradition of excellence, says David Cooper, president of the family business. His father, Jack Cooper,…
Drildzer Society, founded 1934, celebrates anniversary
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Some 120 people recently celebrated the Drildzer Congregation and Society’s 70th anniversary, including a number who were among the group’s early founders. The second, third and fourth generations were also represented at the banquet, held at the Pride of Israel Synagogue, with Rochelle Sufrin, daughter of Jack Stopper, as the evening’s chair. After meeting informally…
Five generations of Wagman family gather for reunion
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More than 400 people representing five generations of Ruchel and Isaac Wagman’s descendants gathered earlier this month (2004) in Chicago for the latest in a series of reunions held every four years in a different city. “It has now been 20 years since the first international reunion of the family,” said Toronto’s Mel Katzman, who…
Goldblatt family reunion is an annual event
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Jacob Norman, the patriarch of the Goldblatt family, came to Canada at the turn of the century. He began his first business, dealing in scrap metal and glass in Hamilton, with a horse and buggy. Eventually, he founded International Iron and Metal. Goldblatt brought many of his relatives to Canada and assisted some of them…
Volunteer has devoted more than 60 years to Stashover
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Albert (Al) Wise, 90, has devoted most of his life to the landsleit of Stashov, the town in Poland where his family lived and where he was born in 1914. His father, Benjamin Weisberg, a tailor, came to Canada in 1920, and two years later, he brought his wife, Al, and Al’s brother and sister.…
